Time Tracking in Toggl

The Timer Page

The Timer page is your main workspace for time tracking. To access it, click the Timer icon in the left navigation bar.

The page has two main areas:

• Timer bar (top) — start a new time entry or see what's currently running
• Entry views (below) — switch between Calendar and Log history to review your logged time or create entries

Use the date picker to navigate between days or weeks.

In Calendar, you can show Day, 3 Days, 5 Days or a full Week. The Week view starts on the day set in Start week on. The 5 Days view shows your work week: Monday to Friday by default, or Sunday to Thursday if your working hours run Sunday to Thursday.

What's in a time log

Each time log can include:

• Description — a short note about what you were working on (typed directly into the timer bar)
• Task — a specific task the entry is linked to
• Project — the project the entry belongs to
• Tags — for categorizing your time
• Billable — mark the entry as billable, independently of its task or project. Unless chosen otherwise, the time entry inherits the billable setting of its task or project. You can also set billable status while the time is still planned, before you log it.
• Start time, end time, and duration
• Date

You can log time with just a description, just a task, just a project, or any combination of the above — pick the level of detail that fits your setup.

Choosing a project and task

Projects, tasks and subtasks are all in one picker. Choose a task and its project is filled in for you, so you don’t pick the project first.

1. In the timer bar, click Project or task, or type + or @ in the description.
2. Search by project, task or client, or browse the list. Each project shows how many tasks it has. Expand a project to see its tasks, and expand a task to see its subtasks.
3. Select a project to log time to the project only, or select a task or subtask to log time to it and its project. Tasks without a project are listed under No project.

When something is selected, the chip shows Project | Task. Clicking either part reopens the same picker, so you can switch to a task in a different project without clearing anything first. Pinned projects are listed first, and Show pinned projects only narrows the list to them. If you can create projects or tasks, Create project and Create task in [project] are at the bottom of the picker.

The same picker opens when you set the project or task on a time log or planned time in the Calendar view.

Ways to log time

Real-time timer Type a description into the timer bar and click the play button to start tracking as you work. The timer runs until you stop it. You can add (or change) a task, project, tags, or the billable flag at any time while it's running or after you stop.

From a task Open any task and click the play button inside it to start a timer directly linked to that task.

Manual Mode Flip the switch beside the play button (or press M) to put the timer bar in Log time mode, then type a duration or pick a start and stop and press Enter. See Manual Mode.

In Calendar view Click any empty slot in the calendar to create a time log for that time. You can also click an existing time log and hit the play icon to start a new timer with the same details.

From planned time or a calendar event: Open a planned entry or a connected-calendar event, add a task or project, tags and billable status, then select Log time. Everything you set carries into the time log. You can also mark planned time as non-billable without linking a task, and it stays non-billable after you log it. To set these details automatically for recurring meetings, use matching rules.

Continue a previous time log In the Log history view, click the three dots on any past time log and click the continue button. This starts a new timer with the same description, task, project, tags, and billable setting.

Browser extension Start timers directly from tools like Jira or Asana without switching tabs. Learn more here.

Smart Suggestions (desktop app) The desktop app surfaces suggestions based on your recent activity, so recurring work can be logged with a single click. Learn more here.

Automated time tracking (desktop app) The app detects which apps and websites you're using and suggests time logs automatically. You can also mark a scheduled time block as done in My Time to auto-track it, or do this for an entire day at once. Tracked vs. planned time is displayed under each day in the calendar view. Learn more here.

Timer modes

Choose how your timer runs before you start it. In the timer bar, click the timer mode button next to the play button, pick a mode, then press play. The timer starts in the mode you picked. You can also switch modes while a timer is running.

The timer mode button is also available next to the play button inside a task, as long as no other timer is running. It's hidden in Log time mode, because a timer mode only applies to a running timer.

• Count up from zero

 The default. Timer starts at 0:00 and counts upward until you stop it. Best for open-ended work sessions where you want to capture exactly how long something takes.

• Count down from set time

 Set a duration before you start — the timer counts down from that time to zero. Useful when you've given yourself a fixed window to complete something. You can set the time limit before you press play. If you don't, the countdown uses the task's estimate.

• Pomodoro

Work in focused intervals separated by short breaks. The timer runs through a work session, then prompts you to take a break before the next round. You can customize both the work and break durations. 

• Focus mode 

Cut out distractions while a timer is running. Click the Focus mode button in the timer bar to hide everything except your current entry — clean, minimal, distraction-free.

Which tasks you can track time on

When you pick a task in the project/task picker (in the timer bar or the calendar) or in search, you’ll see:

• Tasks assigned to you
• Tasks assigned to a team you belong to
• Tasks with no assignee

Unassigned tasks also appear in the Recent and Existing tasks suggestions when you type a description. You don’t need to assign a task to yourself before you track time on it.

Tasks assigned only to another person, or only to a team you’re not in, don’t appear. Project access still applies: an unassigned task in a project you can’t access stays hidden.

Keyboard shortcuts

A few shortcuts worth knowing:

Quick tips

• Use the 3-dot menu on a running log to discard it 
• Keyboard shortcuts work when no input field is active
• A timer you stop is kept even if it only ran a few seconds. Starting a new timer over a running one still discards the running entry.